Observations on articles I read to keep current about technology. My interests are: Privacy, security, business, the computer industry, and geeky stuff that catches my eye.

I don't think I have an agenda beyond my own amusement.

Note that I lump all my comments into a single post. This is not a typical BLOG technique, It's just an indication that I'm lazy.

Monday, November 23, 2015

I find it interesting that there was no mention of
how the malware got into all those terminals. Do we have hackers on
a road trip? More likely, they are loading the malware as an update.
And that is really disturbing from a security viewpoint.

Dozens of Starwood hotels around the country were
hit with malware
that enabled cyber thieves to access credit and debit card
information from point of sale terminals. The malware affected a
variety of locations on Starwood properties, including restaurants,
gift shops, and other places where customers might have swiped a
payment card.

A total of 54
Starwood hotels (PDF) fell prey to the malware, including places
like the Walt Disney World Dolphin - A Sheraton Hotel in Orlando,
Florida, and over a dozen Westin hotels spanning the continental U.S.
and Hawaii.

If you don't have everything you need to steal
money, try extorting it from your victims.

The
opportunistic and empty threat that is data breach victim extortion

… Let me explain how these blackmail attempts
work, what the extortionists are looking for and how they’re
becoming an increasingly common thing in the wake of a major data
breach. Oh – and we’ll see if anyone is actually paying the
bastards as well.

How to
Opt-Out of Interest-Based Advertising and Stop the Ads from Following
You

… . To give you an example, if you search for
‘hotels in singapore’ on a travel website, you’ll see that
almost every website you visit later will have ads arounds Singapore
hotels. Whether you are reading news on CNN, checking out cooking
videos on YouTube or reading your Facebook newsfeed, the ads are
likely to be around the same them – Singapore hotels.

In other words, the ads follow you on the Internet
even after you have switched to a different website. Online
advertisers, with the help of browser cookies, are able to track you
across the web and serve relevant advertising.

If you would not like web companies to use your
past online behavior to target ads on your computer, you do have an
option to easily opt-out. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Amazon
and other web advertising networks offer simple ways to help you
opt-out of targeted advertising.

Toss the baby with the bathwater? The whole
purpose is to make the cards like cash. If the cards become a
hassle, terrorists will go back to cash.

“Ancient
History Encyclopedia is the global leader in ancient history
content online, boasting the highest number of monthly visitors of
any dedicated website… Our team of ten volunteers is passionate
about history: We want to inspire our readers with the stories of the
past, making history engaging and exciting. Here you’ll find
high-quality articles, videos, interactive maps, and books on ancient
history. All contributions
are reviewed by expert volunteers who wish to share their knowledge.
Ancient
History Encyclopedia is entirely run by volunteers from all over
the world. Our core
team hails from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia,
Argentina, Germany, and Italy. We’re always looking for people
from all walks of life to join our team.”

Links

About Me

I live in Centennial Colorado. (I'm not actually 100 years old., but I hope to be some day.) I'm an independant computer consultant, specializing in solving problems that traditional IT personnel tend to have difficulty with... That includes everything from inventorying hardware & software, to converting systems & data, to training end-users. I particularly enjoy taking on projects that IT has attempted several times before with no success. I also teach at two local Universities: everything from Introduction to Microcomputers through Business Continuity and Security Management. My background includes IT Audit, Computer Security, and a variety of unique IT projects.